BANGI, May 10 — The roles of the Attorney-General (AG) and Public Prosecutor (PP) need to be separated to ensure a more independent prosecution institution and better accountability, said Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said.
This will also enable the AG to be held directly accountable in Parliament, thus improving the transparency of the country’s legal system and strengthening institutional checks and balances.
"In our situation today, who answers for the AG in Parliament? The law minister. I answer for him or her.
"Do you think it is fair for me to answer on matters I do not know, or have no full knowledge of?" she said in her closing remarks during the MADANI Accountability Framework Townhall 2026 today.
Azalina added that the findings from a survey conducted by the National Law Students’ Association revealed that university students wanted the separation of the roles to be accompanied by an independent appointment mechanism, security of tenure, and comprehensive legal amendments.
The survey involved 2,243 respondents comprising law students from 12 universities in Malaysia.
“This is what we are currently doing through the Parliamentary Special Select Committee (PSSC),” she said.
The PSSC is examining matters related to the separation of the roles of the AG and the PP, and is working to find common ground to ensure the PP has full independence to carry out prosecutions without fear or favour.
“We want the public prosecutor to be totally independent. When you are independent, you prosecute without favour or bias. If you are prosecuting someone and have immunity to prosecute, but do not act due to personal reasons, that is really unfair,” Azalina said.
Commenting on the appointment of the AG, the minister said the process is generally seen as 'tied' to political appointments because of the role’s function of advising the government.
The appointment of the PP should be made separately to ensure the prosecution institution's independence from any party.
Previously, she said that the PSSC on Constitutional Amendments relating to the separation of the roles of the AG and the PP aims to finalise the bill on the matter in the near future, before tabling it ahead of its final meeting on May 18.
On March 3, the Dewan Rakyat agreed to refer the bill to the Special Select Committee, chaired by Azalina and comprising 11 MPs from both the government and Opposition blocs, to allow all relevant parties to further refine and examine it.
